The latest move came after a two-year assessment process. According to Aaron Heath, a member of the adjunct faculty and manager of information systems, although the college was satisfied with the previous version of CAMS, "good financial stewardship required us to look at other options because a lot has changed in student information systems in the past decade."

CAMS is a Web-based system built on Microsoft technologies to provide management in a number of areas: admissions and enrollment; student services, such as financial aid, housing, meals, and parking; advancement office services; online courses; and payroll, billing, and human resources functionality.

The other products the college considered weren't as comprehensive, Heath noted. "Some lacked a housing component, others required manual rather than automated work flow, and there were those that had to be hosted offsite by the vendor. It became clear we already had the best solution; we just needed to upgrade to CAMS Enterprise."

A specific feature that appealed to the college was CAMS' degree-audit function, which allows the school to limit students to signing up for classes based on specific needs. "This eliminates confusion, dropped classes, and other administrative headaches while boosting productivity for all," Heath said.